


Hello

by SilverWing15



Series: Wave hello, wave goodbye (It means seaweed either way) [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magnus has a fish handling bonus, Marine Biology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-22 23:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15593700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverWing15/pseuds/SilverWing15
Summary: “Mers are dangerous.” Cap'nport reminds them. He looks to each of the members of the team in they eye until they nod. “This is not going to be easy, but it is what must be done.”Or: Magnus' POV for Seaweed that all of us wanted, deep, deep in our hearts.Same warnings here as there were for Seaweed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! Magnus' POV for the events of Seaweed. The second entirely unecessary multi-chapter fic that I wrote when I was supposed to be working on my next novel. It's done now, so I have no more excuses.  
> Anyway I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. The updates for this should be much more regular than they were for 'Seaweed' .  
> There are definitely inconsistencies, but they're minor things so I'm not fixing them. I've spent too much time on this as it is.

“Mers are dangerous.” Cap'nport reminds them. He looks to each of the members of the team in they eye until they nod. “This is not going to be easy, but it is what must be done.”

Despite the usual cheery irreverence of their team, everyone is serious. Mers are rare, and mers are aggressive, and now there's one in danger. They can see it in the distance now, a feeble disturbance in the water. The report had said that there was energetic thrashing. The mer is tiring, and if the tide gets to it before they do, the mer is going to drown.

Magnus grips the railing tightly, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of the mer. All too quickly, it becomes all too clear that something is wrong. It isn't just any mer tangled up in discarded netting. It's a pup. Beside him, Lup is cursing under her breath. Mers are aggressive under normal circumstances, but entire pods will turn bloodthirsty if a pup is threatened.

Davenport slows the ship to a crawl, eyes darting over the waves, searching for the rest of the pod. They might have been spooked by the sound of the engine, but they'll be back soon. And they'll be angry.

“We're not going in the water.” Davenport says over the lapping of waves. He immediately holds up a hand to ward off the arguments coming from every direction. “I'm not risking any of you against an angry pod of mers. We'll do what we can from the surface and go from there.

Quickly, furtively, they set about freeing the pup. He is thrashing weakly in the water, but no parents come to comfort him. They move fast, glancing over their shoulders, flinching at every wayward splash of the waves, but there is no enraged pod come to protect him.

The pup has gone disturbingly still by the time they pull him up, and for a heart shattering moment, Magnus thinks that they were too late. Then he breathes and there is chaos, Merle and Lucretia trying to dart in to get to work, Davenport trying to keep everyone back and on alert, then the pup starts _screaming_.

The mer pup is thrashing and screaming and in just a minute he's going to bring the whole pod down on them. Even if they were scared off by the engine, they wouldn't have gone far, mers were aggressive to humans and other mers, but parents, pods, were fierce defenders of the pups. Only, they don't come. The pup screams and thrashes and calls, but there is no pod to come defend him.

Lup and Barry are looking out over the water, Davenport is holding tight to the wheel, Lucretia and Merle are trying to edge closer to the pup. Its chaos, its dangerous, so Magnus does what he does best.

He rushes in.

He'd spent some time as a grad student working at an alligator farm and those instincts are still ingrained in his muscles. He lunges when the mer pup hesitates for a split second and throws his body across the powerful tail. It isn't quite exactly like pinning a croc, there are less teeth to worry about for one, but there are sharp claws.

He's careful not to put his full weight on the pup, because crocs could take it but mers seem like they would be more fragile. The others have fallen deathly silent, and when he glances up, they're all staring at him like he's insane.

To be fair, he did just fling his entire body onto a dangerous ocean predator.

“Magnus.” Davenport says in that 'I'm trying not to yell but I would really like to' voice. “What—Did you even have a plan?”

“It worked.” Magnus says defensively. The mer pup is tense beneath him, frozen with fear, but he isn't screaming and thrashing anymore so there's that at least.

Davenport sighs. “Yes, I suppose it did.”

The mer pup is breathing hard beneath him and Magnus shifts a bit more weight off of it, just in case. He doesn't start thrashing again though, instead he makes a pathetic little whimper-wail. The others flinch and look around, waiting for the pod to finally make its appearance.

“ _Shh._ ” Magnus says as soothingly as he can manage. He's not really good at gentle and soothing, but he got himself into this situation so he's got to get himself out. Preferably with as few mer bites as he can get away with. Something must get through to the pup, because it quiets down, or maybe its just going into shock. He's gone disturbingly still, aside from a fine trembling that has overtaken his entire body.

“Where's the pod?” Lup asks, she and Barry are standing at opposite ends of the ship, searching the water. “They should have come tearing up the minute we pulled him out.”

“There's nothing on this side.” Barry reports.

“Did they abandon him?” Magnus asks, looking down at the pup. He's fairly old, maybe ten, eleven, not a newborn, but definitely not old enough to be on his own. He is thin though, and there are minor injuries, nips and bruises, scratches that might be from the coral, or from other mers.

“...It's possible.” Lup says. “Maybe an orphan?” She gestures out to the calm ocean around them. “They certainly aren't coming back for him...so what do we do?”

As one, they look to Davenport. He frowns deeply, considering the mer pup and then looking out to the ocean. “He won't survive on his own.” He says. “Even if he weren't injured, a lone mer is vulnerable, much less a lone pup.”

Magnus forgets that he's basically the only thing keeping the pup from thrashing and pushes himself up to stare Davenport in the eyes. “So we just leave him to die?” he growls.

The others drift closer and Davenport sighs. “Of course not, but Magnus, you must understand. Mers _never_ do well in captivity. The longest anyone has kept one alive is forty-four days. Forty-four. Magnus. There isn't going to be a happy ending to this. We can do all we can, but I don't think it will be enough.”

“We have to try.” Magnus says.

“And we will.” Davenport says. “First things first, let's try and keep the poor thing from bleeding out right in front of us, shall we?”

Carefully, Magnus lifts off of the mer pup, but it doesn't start thrashing around immediately again. he's laying deathly silent on the deck and if he couldn't feel the rise and fall of his chest under his hands then Magnus would think he was already dead.

Lup and Barry are set to cutting away the net while Merle and Lucretia finish preparing their supplies and Magnus is left to keep a hand on the mer. He twitches occasionally, but other than that he's almost docile.

It is utterly the opposite of everything the Institute taught him to expect from a mer. It's throwing the others off as well, Lup and Barry keep glancing at him and he can feel eyes on the back of his neck. The mer doesn't move.

“Damn it.” Lup mutters quietly, and she tugs on a bit of netting wrapped around the base of the mer's tail fin. “We have a problem. A big one.”

The mer bursts back into life with a gasp and a high pitched trill. It tries to sit up, likely to make a swipe at Lup and Barry and Magnus presses down on its shoulders. “ _Shh, shhh._ ” He tries to soothe, it seemed to work before, and that is holding true now. The mer stills, looking up at him with hazy eyes.

It makes the chirp-whine again and tries to lift a hand, but Magnus wraps his own hands around the delicate wrist. “I know, I know, we're trying to help.” He says as gently as he can.

Lup and Barry are working fast, their knives are silver flashes in the air as they pull netting away. Lup is muttering a steady stream of “ _fuck fuck fuck.”_ as she works.

“Lup?” Davenport asks.

“It's wrapped around his tail way tight.” Lup says. “It's cut off circulation. I don't know how long but it doesn't look good.”

The mer is coming back to life now, at just about the most inopportune time. Trying to move his hands, trying to look at Barry and Lup. Little chirps are rising from his throat, but he doesn't call out for the pod anymore.

“Let me get a better grip before you start on that.” Magnus says, and he shifts to cradle the mer's torso against his chest. Lup and Barry work fast, but the mer is definitely coming into his second wind now. Trying to look around, trying to move.

“I'm gonna try and get the net around his tail off.” Lup says, looking to the mer's face. “He's not going to like this. You ready Maggie?”

“Go for it.”

The mer is thrashing and struggling almost immediately and it's all Magnus can do to keep him from lunging, either for the ocean or for Barry and Lup. “I know, I know, I know.” Magnus chants, a useless, empty phrase. He doesn't really know what the mer's going through at all. “We're trying to help. It hurts but its gonna help. I promise.”

The mer tires himself out long before they're finished. He's breathing hard again, twitching every once in awhile, but there's no more fight left in him. “There you go.” Magnus says anyway. “Just calm down, we're trying to help.”

The mer twists in his grasp and turns his face into Magnus' chest. Magnus has to stop himself from pulling back, he'll take a bite if he needs to, but the mer doesn't bite. He buries its face into his chest like a kid scared by a thunderstorm and Magnus is struck with the thought that this _is_ a scared kid.

The Institute had been very clear that mers were not human. That was always a risk with magical creatures that looked so familiar. People would try to treat them like humans and end up doing more harm than good. People were fairly sure that mers were sapient, but that was pretty much it. All that was really known was that they were dangerous and aggressive. Magnus wonders if somewhere along the line, people were so focused on how different mer's were they lost sight of the ways they were the same.

Lucretia and Merle have taken the opening to dart forward and get started on what medical attention they can offer from the boat. From Lucretia's face, the prognosis isn't good. Lup and Barry are talking quietly together, still glancing out over the water like the rest of the pod is going to come.

“We should name him.” Magnus says, his mouth moving the moment the thought pops into his head.

“Magnus.” Davenport says, with the same expression he wore when he said 'forty-four days'. “I don't think it's a good idea to get attached.”

“I think its a great idea.” Magnus says stubbornly. “He's not just an animal, look at him.” He shifts his arms so that the others can see the face of the sleeping mer. “He's a _kid_ and he's scared. We can't just give up now, we have to _try_ , Davenport.” He looks to the others, hoping to find support in at least one of their faces.

“Maggie.” Lup starts, but that's all she says. Her expression is pitying, the same way it was when Jules was in surgery aft the crash. The way you look at someone who is holding onto hope long after everyone else has figured out the inevitable.

“No, Lup.” Barry says. “Magnus is right. We're a research team, we're meant to be _learning_ new things, not relying on old ones. Obviously, the way mers have been handled in the past doesn't work. Maybe its time we try something different.”

Davenport considers this for a long moment and then he sighs. “Alright. What should we call him?”

“Fisher.” Magnus says immediately, it's a stupid name, absolutely terrible, but maybe that's what they need. Something silly, something light to fight back the darkness.

The others laugh and there are a few other suggestions thrown around, but by the time they make it back to the institute, the mer is named Fisher. Of course, then the lighthearted atmosphere takes a deathly plunge all over again because Fisher is in all kinds of trouble.

Lucretia and Merle are moving in that quick-quiet way that means _keep the fuck out of the way_ and the rest of them sort of hover around the edges of the room, not sure what to do. They pull the rest of the netting off and set about cleaning the wounds when Fisher starts to wake up.

At first its subtle, just a few twitches and shifting around, but it soon gets to the point that yeah, they're about to have a scared, injured mer in the middle of their lab. “Magnus.” Merle says without looking up. “Put your coat over his eyes. Try and keep him from stressing out.”

“Right.” Magnus says, pulling his jacket off and spreading it over Fisher. The little mer makes a whining sound that is so like a kid being told to wake up for school that Magnus nearly jolts. Then Fisher is whining, crying out for the pod that didn't come even when they were still out at sea. He's starting to get more energetic as well, moving his limbs, trying to sit up.

“Shh, buddy. I know. Just hold still for a little bit longer.” Magnus says, running a hand through the tangled hair on top of his head.

“He's not gonna like this.” Merle says, tying a tourniquet around Fisher's right arm. “We need a blood sample though.”

Merle is right and Fisher puts up more than a bit of a fuss, but Magnus thinks its more about the restraint than the actual blood draw. When Fisher raises a hand to tug the jacket away, Merle makes a move to stop him, but Magnus holds up a hand. “Let him.” He says. “He's freaked out enough without being blind on top of it.”

Maybe he's still in shock, maybe he's just been through so much weird shit that this doesn't' even phase him, but Fisher stays calm even though he's in unfamiliar surroundings. He's looking around, sure, and he looks nervous but he isn't thrashing and panicked. It's a step in the right direction at least.

The others creep over, Davenport wants an update, Lup wants to know what the plan is now, Fisher watches them warily, but he doesn't freak out at this either. Maybe, just maybe, this will actually work out.

Then Fisher trills again and his hands move in a way that is undeniably deliberate. Barry gasps and practically lunges across the lab, staring at Fisher like he's just revealed the secrets of existence. “Did you see that?” He squeaks like they weren't all standing there. “A sign language! Of course! I don't know why no one else put it together before this!”

Lup grabs him by the back of his jacket and tugs him into place beside her. “Probably because everyone else was busy trying not to get _killed_.”

Barry, true to form, doesn't seem to notice the clear warning. He's using diver signals to try and communicate, and Fisher looks like he's trying to talk back, but neither of them have any chance of understanding each other.

Things are actually going well until Fisher tries to move and throws himself back into a panic. By the time he calms down, everyone is exhausted. He may be small, but mers are strong. Barry gets sent off to bring the blood sample to Lucretia and somehow, Magnus finds himself holding hands with one of the worlds most dangerous magical creatures.

 

By the end of the day, Lucretia has the lab results back and Davenport calls a meeting to discuss moving forward.

“There's no infection yet.” Lucretia says. “But it doesn't look good.”

As if they weren't already dabbling in risky territory. Magnus listens to Lucretia and Merle talk about blood flow and gangrene and wishes that he could understand.

At the end of the day though, there is only one option. If Fisher's tail doesn't recover, they'll have to cut it off before it kills him. There's no way that they can release him back into the ocean with such an injury, it would be cruel, and there has been a long standing ban against euthanizing mers even if they didn't know that he was intelligent. All they can do is heal him to the best of their abilities and hope that Fisher can adapt to life with humans.

Magnus goes to sleep that night with Davenport's words echoing in his head.

_'Forty-four days.'_

 


	2. Chapter 2

For the next week or so, Fisher is in 'observation' Lucretia and Merle have him on the good stuff and he's docile for the most part. He doesn't like to be alone, though, so they each take turns keeping watch over him. Davenport insists that this be done in pairs so that they can at least pretend like they have read the safety manuals.

Merle and Lucretia take sample after sample and they're hovering over Fisher's tail fin near constantly, but Magnus doesn't have to be trained in veterinary anything to pick up on the fact that it isn't getting better. On the sixth day, Lucretia calls it.

“It has to come off.” She says with quiet weight. “I've held off as long as I can out of foolish hope, but there's nothing we can do.”

Davenport sighs. “Let's do this, then.”

***

Magnus is assigned to Fisher-duty, since he seems to be the one Fisher likes best. The others are busy preparing, they've got to have Fisher out and ready to move into the OR as quickly as possible. There is no way to avoid the stress that this is going to cause, but they can at least try to minimize it.

Fisher, of course, wakes up about halfway through getting things ready. Magnus does his best to seem calm and unbothered, but he isn't sure that Fisher buys it. He's struck, suddenly by how _wrong_ this feels. To be amputating Fisher's tail without giving him any input, without even giving him any warning.

“Hey buddy.” Magnus says, pushing the panic back as far as he can. He has to keep calm, Fisher is good at picking up on the energy of a room and the others are tense enough as it is. “I know you're scared, and you're hurt, but we're gonna fix at least one of those, okay? It's gonna be scary, and its gonna be a really _really_ big change, but this is the only way. I'm sorry we can't do more.”

He knows, logically, that Fisher can't even begin to understand him but it makes him feel better to at least try. Fisher is trying to peer behind him now, making a low trill that Magnus interprets as curious. He doesn't seem bothered, but he probably has no clue what they're about to do to him.

_For him._

They're doing this to save his life. If nothing else, he can cling to that.

_Forty-four days._

Lucretia and Merle come back in, then, saving him from his thoughts. Fisher takes this pretty well, even though the cart is full of beeping machines and there is enough activity in the room besides to make Magnus nervous. Lucretia seems to fascinate him and Magnus realizes that Lucy has pretty well been locked up in the lab every time Fisher has been conscious.

“Hey buddy, this is Lucy.” He gestures for Lucretia to come over. “She's gonna be the one in charge of..of the surgery. You're in good hands, okay?”

Fisher tilts his head, confusion in his face.

“Lucretia,” Magnus says again, he can at least introduce Fisher to the person who is holding his life in her hands.

“Lu-cre-tia.” Lucy says, picking up on something from the glance she gives him. Then she points to Magnus and says his name. It takes Fisher a second more to understand, and then he's excited. His hands flash through words too quickly to catch even if they could understand.

Then he's telling them his name, and of course, its a strange, entirely unpronounceable thing, but they know his _name_. The others are just as excited and they spend way too long trying to teach each other everyone's name. Barry is nerding out, muttering theories and trying to get Fisher to repeat his name sign, since the vocal part of that equation is pretty much impossible.

Davenport is the one to bring them back down to earth. He clears his throat reluctantly and says, “as exciting as this is, I believe we have a surgery to get to?” That kills the mood in a heartbeat. Fisher, of course, picks up on this immediately.

“Mmm?” He asks, glancing around at everyone's faces. He reaches out for Magnus' hand.

Magnus takes a deep breath and catches Fishers hand in between his own. “Okay buddy, we're gonna have to put you under now, alright? Lucretia's gonna take good care of you, don't worry. Merle's gonna be there too and he's not too bad.”

Lucretia, saint that she is, shows Fisher the mask. “See? We're just going to put this over your face like this and you'll fall right to sleep.”

Fisher doesn't understand, of course he doesn't understand. They don't even speak the same language, but there is something just _wrong_ about putting him under and cutting off bits of him without offering any sort of explanation.

“I'll be honest with you buddy, it's gonna be rough.” Magnus says, his voice is halting and strange to his own ears. “But I promise that we're trying to help, okay? If we don't do this, it'll kill you.”

 _Forty-four days._ Davenport's voice whispers in his mind. Magnus shuts it out.

Fisher is looking more nervous by the minute and Magnus sighs. This is going to be difficult enough, they need to just get it over with. “Lucretia is gonna put you under, now, alright? It won't hurt, I promise.”

Maybe Lucretia moves too fast, maybe some noise in the background takes him off guard, but between one moment and the next, Fisher spooks and he's panicking. Magnus puts his hand on Fisher's thin shoulder, tries to meet his eyes, get him to calm back down. Fisher is having none of it.

“Put him under before he hurts himself.” Merle barks. “The rest of you, come help Magnus.”

Despite his small size, Fisher is _strong_ and it takes all of them to hold him down for Lucretia to strap the mask over his head. Slowly, the fight drains out of him and then he is laying asleep on the table.

Magnus touches Fisher's cheek gently. “I'm sorry buddy.” He murmurs quietly.

Lucretia puts a hand on his shoulder, when he turns to her, her face is pitying. “You go wait with the others, okay Mags? We'll call you back when the surgery is over.”

Magnus nods silently and Lup puts a hand on his other shoulder to lead him out. “They know what they're doing.” She says quietly. “Fisher's strong, he'll make it through.”

Magnus doesn't say that it isn't the surgery he's worried about.

_Forty-four days._

Today is day six.

Magnus stares at the clock and watches the seconds tick down.

***

The surgery takes hours, and both Merle and Lucretia are asleep on their feet by the time they bring Fisher to the recovery room. “There weren't any complications.” Lucretia says. “He should make a full recovery.”

 _Should_ make a full recovery.

As long as he eats. As long as he doesn't go catatonic from stress. As long as he is different from every other mer in history.

Magnus volunteers for the first round of Fisher-watch after the surgery. Lup signs up with him.

They wait in the hallway, anxious silence hovering between them like a third watchman for hours. Fisher doesn't wake up. Merle and Lucretia have gone home and Magnus can't ask them if there is something wrong, if Fisher should have woken up by now.

Barry and Taako come to relieve them eventually. Barry puts a gentle hand on Lup's shoulder. “Anything yet?”

“Nothing.” Lup says, Barry squeezes her arm.

Then Fisher starts screaming.

Without thinking, Magnus rushes in. The door is thrown open and light from the hallway spills into the room. Fisher is sitting up on the bed, staring at his tail. Then he is staring at Magnus and he's _terrified._ Magnus crouches down, tries to make himself less intimidating,

Fisher stares at him with wide eyes, whimpers and backs away, he is so scared of Magnus that he crawls right off the bed and onto the floor and doesn't seem to notice. Magnus stares back, he's sure his face is almost as horrified.

“Fisher.” His voice is strange to his own ears, strangled and hoarse. “Fisher I won't—I wouldn't.”

The others burst into the room and quickly take stock of the situation. Lup and Barry immediately try to help Fisher. They're talking to him in those low, soft voices, but Fisher is panicking now and he catches Barry in the stomach with his powerful tail.

Magnus braces himself against the wall and watches Fisher. He's cowering in the corner, he's still staring at Magnus even though Lup and Barry are closer. Taako is lingering in the doorway, watching them all.

“What the fuck.” He says, too loud in the deadly quiet that has fallen.

“Hush.” Lup says swiftly. “Go, tell Davenport or something.”

Taako goes.

Barry rasps. “I'm fine. He just caught me by surprise.”

Lup turns to Magnus. “You good?”

“He's scared of me, Lup.” He says.

Lup sighs. “He's scared of everyone, Maggie. He just needs some time to calm down, okay? He'll be alright.”

Magnus watches her try to soothe Fisher, she puts the blanket over his shoulders and he doesn't stop her, but he doesn't really respond either. Eventually, Fisher falls asleep, but its light and troubled.

“C'mon Mags.” Lup says. She and Barry pull him to his feet and they all go out into the hall together. Davenport is waiting for them.

“Well?” He asks, but his voice is grim. Taako has told him what happened already. He knows that Fisher's chances just took a nose dive.

“He needs some time to calm down.” Lup says.

She doesn't say:

_The stress of captivity often sends a mer into a catatonic state. They will refuse to eat or even swim if placed in water._

Like the textbook back at the Institute.

She doesn't say:

“ _Magnus, you must understand. Mers never do well in captivity. The longest anyone has kept one alive is forty-four days. Forty-four. Magnus. There isn't going to be a happy ending to this. We can do all we can, but I don't think it will be enough”_

Like Davenport did, but that is all Magnus hears.

The sun is coming up, flooding the hallways of the IPRE building with light.

Today is day seven.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still really crappy at responding to comments but I do absolutely love them you guys! Someone asked if I had a tumblr and I do, but I do all of my original writing over there and I want to keep that as separate from my fics as I can, so sorry. Maybe one day I'll make a sideblog for fics. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter~

They put him back on the drugs while he is in recovery. Lighter than last time, but after Fisher panicked the first time Lucretia came to check on him, they couldn't risk him doing more damage to his already wounded tail.

Magnus can't bring himself to visit while Fisher is awake. He lays in bed with the ghostly warmth of Julia heavy in his mind and all he can think of is the absolute terror on Fisher's face. He knows that mer aging is probably different from humans, but Fisher looks about eleven or so. If Julia had lived, would they have had a son like him?

Curious and so humblingly brave despite everything.

Lup steps up when he can't with her typical disregard for how things _should_ go that seems to make the world fall in line with her. Like she's so determined that things will work out the way that she decides they will that even fate can't resist her.

Fisher should fall into catatonia, he should stop eating, stop reacting, but days eight, nine, ten, eleven and more parade by and he doesn't. He isn't happy, anyone could tell that much, he's still scared out of his mind, whatever trust they'd managed to build with him is shattered. He doesn't go catatonic though, he doesn't turn murderously aggressive.

On day fourteen, Lucretia says that they can let him off the table. They can take him off of the drugs. They've already cleared out an enclosure for him and refitted it so that it feels less like they're holding a sapient being in an animal pen. Most of the modifications, honestly, are towards this end.

Mers in the ocean don't need murals or soft blankets or little sheds with heating and lights. Those are human things, but they're still what Fisher gets. Davenport, of course, insists on planning the move itself down to every last detail.

“We're going to make this as low stress as possible.” He says, “That means the fewest amount of people, the least amount of fuss. We need at least four on transport, and Lup, he's been responding well to you so you'll be in charge of keeping him calm. Got it?”

“Aye aye, Cap'nport.” Lup says, ready to get up from the table and get started right then and there.

“Before you go.” Davenport says, somehow, he gets more serious. “There will be new rules when Fisher is in his area, and all of you will obey them.” He levels a look across the table, meeting everyone's eyes. “First and foremost, none of you will go into the water with him. No matter the circumstances, is that clear?”

“What if--” Barry begins.

“No. I realize that Fisher is cute, and he looks human and while he is intelligent, the other mers have been as well. That has not stopped them from drowning and tearing apart others. You are not to go into the water.”

Eventually, they all have to agree because Davenport will accept no arguments.

***

Day fifteen is moving day. Magnus stations himself in the security booth with Davenport. They watch on the monitors as Lup talks to Fisher while the others load him up. Lucretia took him off the drugs earlier that morning so he's fully lucid for the first time since he panicked after the surgery.

So far, he is reacting better than any other mer ever brought back to the mainland. He's nervous, sure, but he's still responding. And responding positively, too. Not lashing out indiscriminately. Davenport says that there might be reason to hope. Magnus only hears _forty-four days_ again and again on repeat.

They flip through the cameras, watching the others take Fisher through the quickest, quietest route out to his new enclosure. Taako has taken to calling it his apartment, or his room.

Everyone files out quickly once Fisher is in the water. At first he tries to swim the way he used to and Magnus is afraid that he's going to drown himself trying to get back to the surface. Then he seems to figure himself out and he uses his hands to walk along the bottom, only using his tail to balance himself. Lup appearing in the window seems to surprise him a bit, but he pops in and out of the water easily.

Things are tense for the next three days ( _sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Twenty-six days left_ ) but Fisher responds well to his new apartment. He won't come near anyone when they come out, but he still eats, he still responds. They try to keep their visits to a minimum to keep him from getting too stressed, but Barry goes out daily with extra food to try and tempt Fisher closer.

Magnus all but lives in the security booth. He whiles away long hours in an uncomfortable chair watching the monitors. Eventually, even his guilt can't keep him occupied and for the first time in years, he tries his hand at wood carving.

It's rough, to start out with, his hands haven't entirely forgotten the work, but it is hard to fall into the old focus when Fisher is still suffering right in front of him. The duck is pretty rough, but it is finished and Magnus can be proud of that.

“Hey Maggie.” Barry says on day nineteen, “I was about to go out again, you want to come?” He asks every day.

“No.” Magnus says like they both know he will. Then he surprises even himself by holding out the duck that he's only just finished sanding. “Take this out to him, though. He looks kind of bored out there.”

Barry takes the duck and doesn't comment on the fact that Magnus is carving again. “Bored huh...there's a thought. You think he likes puzzles?”

He's already walking away though, muttering things under his breath. A few minutes later, he reappears on the monitor. Fisher doesn't come for the duck while Barry is there, but after he leaves he climbs up onto shore. One poorly carved wooden duck is not equal to what they have taken from him, but Magnus feels a little bit of the guilt lift away every time he sees Fisher carrying it around.

The next day, Barry goes out with a little plastic maze that he apparently picked up from some dollar store. Lup is standing with Magnus in the security booth, trying to convince him to visit when Barry goes out. Neither of them is expecting much to come from it. Fisher has staunchly refused to interact with anyone for anything.

Something about the stupid dollar store maze is apparently fascinating though, and by some miracle, Barry actually gets Fisher to pass it back and forth with him. “I've got to go see this.” Lup says, laughing. “You should go see him sometime Maggie. You can't sulk forever.”

By day twenty-four, Fisher is easily sitting on the bank with Lup and Barry, learning sign language and passing puzzles back and forth. No one is entirely sure where Barry keeps getting the puzzles from, but Fisher always seems to like them.

“He's smart.” Barry tells them one afternoon. “Probably a genius. Definitely smarter than some humans I know.”

On day twenty-five, Magnus wanders the halls of the institute, restless. He's just finished another duck for Fisher and Lup made him promise that he would take this one down personally. Its probably irrational, but some part of him thinks that if he goes down there all of Fisher's progress will instantly revert and he'll be hiding in the far corner of the pool again.

Taako intercepts him around mid day and somehow talks him into helping him move something large that then melts into lunch and then somehow he is talked into helping Taako reorganize things. Without really understanding how, Magnus spends the entire day helping Taako. The distraction is, frankly, welcome, and just the sort of thing that Taako specializes in. Magnus is able to forget about Fisher and all of the associated emotions for a few hours at least.

Its nearly midnight by the time Taako runs out of things for Magnus to do and lets him loose. Magnus stops by the security booth on his way out to grab his bag and his eyes fall on the newly completed duck. This one is better than its predecessor, it is detailed and sanded and sealed where the other was rough and impulsive, this one is deliberate.

Magnus runs his fingers over the smooth wood and stares into the blank eyes. He sighs and picks it up.

It is day twenty-six and he is going to see Fisher.

He doesn't let himself hesitate at the door to Fisher's room. He opens it softly, he knows that technically, this isn't what Lup meant when she told him to bring the duck down to Fisher himself. Sometimes compromise is the best solution.

He crosses to the Fisher's little building and peeks inside. It is dark, but he can make out little lump among the blankets and stuffed animals. Magnus steps in, intending to leave the new duck beside the old, but the old one isn't here. He frowns, Fisher has been taking the duck everywhere with him, and he didn't see it outside, but maybe he just hadn't been looking.

He closes the door softly behind himself and peers out over the water, maybe Fisher left it out there?

He finds the duck, because Fisher is holding it. Holding it and staring at Magnus the way anyone would stare at someone who basically broke into their house in the middle of the night. Magnus stares back for a second, then catches himself.

He offers a little wave, which earns him a strange look. “Hey, buddy. I uh..I'm sorry I haven't been down to see you.”

Fisher looks surprised, and a little wary, but it isn't the horrified look Magnus has been fearing.

Magnus slowly lowers himself down to sit in the customary 'talking to Fisher' spot right at the edge of the pool. “You like the duck then?” He asks, gesturing to it.

Fisher pulls it closer to his chest and Magnus can't help but smile. “It wasn't my best work, but if you like it I'm glad. I thought I'd make him a friend though.” He gently sends the new duck across the space between them and Fisher reaches out to claim it quickly.

“I'm sorry I've been away. I've been watching you and Barry though, you're pretty good with those puzzles, huh? Barry says you're probably a genius, you know. Great big boy brain in there, if you could take the IQ test you'd ace it.”

Fisher seems happy to listen to him talk for as long as he will and Magnus obliges. It's about an hour before he runs out of things to talk about. “Well...I'm gonna go, alright? Lup and Barry will probably be back with more puzzles in the morning.” He waves goodnight and slips out.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Lup is waiting for him by the door. She looks like she's gotten even less sleep than him, somehow. “Hey Maggie. How's Fisher doing?”

“He seemed fine to me.” Magnus says. “I was just down there, I brought him the new duck.”

That seems to wake her up. “Really? And he was okay with that?”

Magnus frowns. “He was kinda wary, but other than that he seemed pretty happy with it.”

Lup closes her eyes. “Thank fucking god.”

“What happened, is something wrong?”

Lup sighs and scrubs a hand over her face. “We fucked up yesterday. You've seen the way he swims?”

Magnus nods.

“Its tearing up his fingers. I tried to tell him that Merle or Lucretia could help him fix it but he took it the wrong way. I think he thought we were gonna cut his fingers off too. God, its just fucked up. I thought that we were gonna have to go into crisis mode Maggie. He was just huddled up in that fucking back corner staring. He wouldn't respond to us But he was fine when you went out?”

Magnus feels his heart stop, then restart. “Fuck Lup.” He braces himself on the wall and runs a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I had no idea. Why didn't you say anything?”

“We wanted to give him a chance to calm down first. I guess it worked.” She laughs in a sort of hysterical way. Magnus laughs too, its really more of a hoarse gasp, but its better than a sob.

They both stand in the hallway, exhausted physically and emotionally for a long time. “Alright.” Lup says. “I have to go fix this.”

Magnus nods. “You want me to get Merle?”

Lup hesitates for a moment. “No. I don't want to stress him out any more yet. Let me see if I can fix this mistake before we add another one onto it. Do you know where my old diving gloves went?”

Magnus frowns. “Uh...they should be in the gear room still, why?”

“If he won't see Merle we can at least give him a way to protect his hands.”

“Right..I'll help you look.”

They both tear apart the gear room, but they don't find the gloves until they think to check Barry's locker. “Fucking finally.” Lup mutters, tucking them into her pocket. “You coming with?”

“Let's not crowd him.” Magnus says. He wants to go, he realizes, he doesn't feel like he needs to keep away, doesn't feel like he's going to be faced with raw terror. It is day twenty-seven and things are looking up.

While Lup goes back out to Fisher, Magnus returns to the security booth. He's barely gotten himself comfortable, with the newest carving in his hands, when Lup sends a significant look up to the security camera. She signs a few more things to Fisher, but Magnus is at a bad angle to pick them up.

The next thing he knows, Lup is bursting into the booth. “He's asking for you.”

Magnus nearly drops his grandfather's knife. “He what?”

“He wants you there.” Lup says, in a voice that means that what she wants to happen is going to happen.

“I guess I'll go then.” Magnus says, because there is no stopping Lup when she takes that tone and he isn't sure he wants to stop her anyway. “I'll just...” He sets the duck and his knife aside and dusts wood shavings off of himself.

Lup nods briskly. “I'm going to get Merle, you head out. No lollygagging, Maggie.”

“Yes ma'am.”

When he gets to the door, all he can see is Fisher laying out on the concrete, disturbingly still. His heart stops, then picks back up into overtime. He feels numb, disconnected from his body as it shoves open the door and rushes into Fisher's room. His knees hit the concrete hard enough to rattle his jaw, but he ignores that.

He shakes Fisher's shoulder, not hard, he can't bring himself to be rough. “Fisher, Fish. Hey, buddy. Fisher, look at me. Fisher!”

Fisher whines like a kid being woken up for the first day of school and Magnus feels the tension drain out of himself so quickly he nearly falls over. He braces himself beside Fisher and leans over to look into his face. “Hey, you scared me. I guess you were tired after staying up all night huh?”

Fisher stares at him blearily for a moment, then he lunges. Despite all of Davenport's warnings and reminders about the aggression of captive mers, Magnus doesn't move. Thankfully, Fisher doesn't attack, he only wraps his skinny arms around Magnus' neck and buries his face into his chest.

He's making a high trilling sound, so soft its almost a croon and Magnus returns the hug wholeheartedly. “I missed you too. I'm sorry that you were scared. I'm sorry you were hurt. I'm sorry that I stayed away.”

They sit on the concrete for a long while, so long that Fisher seems to be falling back asleep and Magnus feels himself threatening to drift off as well. He was working hard yesterday and now that all the stress of this morning has drained away he feels like a nap in the sun would be a great way to spend the day. Fortunately, before he can wreck his back on the hard concrete, Lup and Merle burst into Fisher's room.

“Maggie?!” Lup asks, her voice high with stress.

Fisher jolts at their entrance, grumbling lowly at having his nap interrupted again. Magnus pats him on the head and smiles up at Lup.

“He's tired, but he's okay. Freaked me out when I saw him too, but I think he was out in the water all night.”

Lup frowns guiltily at that.

Magnus reaches a hand out to her and she crouches down beside them. “You did your best.” Magnus says.

“But it wasn't good enough.” Lup replies.

“You can fix it now.”

Lup sighs and nods. “Hey, Fisher,” she taps his shoulder. “I brought Merle, we're gonna take a look at those hands of yours, okay?” She signs something to him, and Magnus is going to have to get her to teach him the signs now that Fisher wants to see him again.

Fisher holds his hands out to her and Merle gently and quietly starts his exam. They're all quiet, watching him work. Fisher is tense, looking ready to draw his hands back at any second.

“He's torn 'em up but good.” Merle says. “The gloves should help and I can give him a bit of ointment to keep them from getting infected, but that's pretty much all we can do.”

Fisher is surprisingly tolerant of Merle's attentions, all things considered. He even lets the old doctor check out the bruise on his forehead. When Merle is done, he waddles out and Barry comes in. He doesn't look like he got any more sleep than Lup did, but he's got another puzzle in his hands.

“I texted him.” Lup explains.

They spend the day out with Fisher, passing the puzzle around and quietly talking. All in all, its a good day, despite how it started.

Today is day twenty-nine. There are fifteen days left on Davenport's deadline, but for the first time, it feels like they'll make it.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Lucas Miller is not one of Magnus' favorite people. He's one of Lucretia's medical types and they have little cause to interact, but when they do, Miller never fails to rub him the wrong way. So Magnus is less than pleased that they're calling him in to interact with Fisher. Lucas is the best that they have when it comes to prosthetics, though, and Fisher will need the best.

“Don't rush at him.” Magnus says sternly. He's already said this twice, but he doesn't think that Lucas has heard him. He's mumbling to himself, fingers twitching like he's already working. “Hang back until we introduce you, got it?”

“Right.” Lucas says distractedly.

Magnus growls, but Lup puts a hand on his shoulder. “Let's just get this over with, babe.”

Barry offers him a sympathetic look and takes a spot next to Lucas as though he'll be able to stop him if he does something stupid. Magnus is out the door first, he makes sure to smile and greet Fisher normally.

“Hey buddy, no duck this time, I'm still working on it, but I did bring you a new--”

Behind him, Lucas gasps and rushes forward like Magnus told him not to _three times_. “Oh look at you!” Lucas babbles. “Absolutely perfect construction, streamlined, powerful.”

Fisher does not respond well. He's leaning towards the water, ready to slip under if Lucas gets any closer. Magnus grabs Lucas by the scruff of his lab coat and hauls him backwards. “What did I tell you? Three. Times. Don't rush him. Don't crowd him.” He shakes Lucas harshly.

“Right.” Lucas says again, but this time he's actually paying attention. Magnus lets him down.

Thankfully, Lup puts herself between them and she's already introducing Lucas. Fisher doesn't seem thrilled, but he's not leaning towards the water any more.

Then, the second that Fisher signs his name, Lucas is lunging forwards. “Yes! That's me! Amazing, absolutely breathtaking! So intelligent. You are gorgeous. Perfect. A miracle of nature!”

Magnus takes a step forward but Lup holds a hand out. “He's not reacting too badly. Give him a chance to get used to Lucas.”

Reluctantly, Magnus subsides. He joins Lup in trying to explain the concept of a prosthetic to a mer boy who knows a total of about twenty words. “Merle has that soulwood one.” Magnus suggests.

Then Fisher gets the impression that Merle is coming.

“I mean, it might help.” Lup says, “we could show him instead of trying to explain it.”

“Merle isn't in today.” Magnus says. And then they're debating whether it's worth calling Merle in.

The splash is what gets their attention. Lucas is sitting by the edge of the pool and Fisher is once again hunkering down in the back corner. Just seeing him over there makes Magnus' heart ache. There are so many terrible days that Fisher has spent hiding out in that corner and he'd thought they were finally over.

He hauls Lucas up while Lup tries to coax Fisher back. “What did I tell you? _Don't crowd him._ He's a _person_ not one of your experiments.” He's ready to go on, but Lup somehow manages to convince Fisher to come back to the shore. Magnus spends the rest of Lucas' visit glowering at the scientist from the back wall, watching Fisher's face for any sign that he's uncomfortable.

Today is day thirty-one and they're going to fix Fisher's tail.

***

Day thirty-seven begins with a staff meeting. Davenport doesn't call them very often because they all end up hanging out after work anyway. Calling a meeting raises all kinds of flags and by the time Magnus arrives, he's halfway convinced himself that something terrible has happened to Fisher.

“Fish is fine Maggie.” Lup says as she brushes by him. “Bare and I were just out there.”

Magnus sighs and sits down beside her. Taako takes his other side and the rest file in around them. Davenport takes the seat at the head of the table. “First things first, I want to say just how proud I am of all of you. Your work with Fisher has been revolutionary on every front.” Davenport sighs. “Unfortunately, that work has attracted attention from higher up.”

He pushes a packet of papers onto the table. Written in bold font at the top of the first page is the name _“Bureau of Balance”._

Even Magnus can recognize that name. Founded well before the IPRE and entirely concerned with the well-fare of magical creatures, sapient and not. And they had a mer pup in their custody.

“I held off notifying them for as long as I could.” Davenport says. “They are the ones to set the regulations for interacting with mers. Clearly those haven't been working and if they'd known they would have enforced them.”

“But you did tell them.” Lucretia says, motioning to the page. “Clearly they know, now. So what do they want?”

“They're not happy with how long I held off. Even with the nature of the reports that I sent in they're insisting that they take custody of Fisher.”

Magnus' chair squeals as he shoves himself to his feet. It falls to the floor, but he doesn't care. “What?! They think they can just sweep in here and _take_ him?”

Lup is on her feet a split second after him. “He doesn't know them! He's only just begun to trust us! If we ship him off to those fuckers he'll go catatonic.”

Barry doesn't get to his feet, but he is seething quietly as he scrubs aggressively at his glasses. “Knowing what we know now, the previous regulations on mer handling will do more harm than good.”

“I know.” Davenport says. “I tried, I promise you I tried to explain but there's nothing I can do now. They're sending a team to collect him in two days.”

Magnus slams his hand on the table. “I'm not letting them take him.”

“We don't have a choice, Magnus.” Davenport sighs. In that same tone he used when he said ' _forty-four days.'_

“What if we request that they evaluate the situation first.” Lucretia says. She and Merle are the only ones still calm. Taako is trying to appear unaffected, but he's failing miserably. Anyone who knows him can see the schemes spinning behind his eyes.

“I can ask.” Davenport says. “But I don't have a lot of grace here. They really weren't happy with the reports being late.”

The meeting dissolves with everyone unhappy and anxious. Days thirty-two and thirty-three pass in tense silence. They try to pretend that everything is normal for Fisher's sake, but he's good at reading a room.

The Bureau representative arrives on day thirty-three. A tall dark haired, dark skinned man who introduces himself as 'Kravitz'. He looks around the Institute with an air of quiet assessment, probably looking for more things to tack on to his report.

In the spirit of getting things over with as soon as possible, they take Kravitz directly to Fisher's room. Taako attatches himself to the man and gives him a whirlwind tour on the way there, pointing out random things and offering half an anecdote before pointing out another. “I am really only interested in the mer you have been keeping in your...care.” Kravitz interrupts before Taako can really hit his stride on the 'tour'.

“Sure thing homes.” Taako says easily and suddenly they're taking the most direct route to Fisher instead of the painfully long roundabout way.

Fisher is hanging out in the pool when they arrive. Floating and lazily chasing one of the ducks around the water. Magnus sneaks a glance at Kravitz's face and doesn't bother hiding his smug smile when the man looks astonished. He was no doubt expecting to see a mer half-starved and mostly catatonic.

Taako knocks on the glass and waves, which Fisher seems to be getting more used to, but he still gives them a weird look even when he waves back Kravitz seems even more startled at that.

_Just you wait._ Magnus thinks. _We've only just started._

“He seems remarkably...responsive.” Kravitz says and for the first time there's a little bit of doubt in his voice, instead of the poorly disguised disdain and disapproval.

“Fisher's a champ.” Lup says proudly. “It was a little rough to start out with but he's a tough little guy. Maggie's his favorite though.”

“Interesting.” Kravitz murmurs. “How well does he respond to you entering his territory.”

“He's not aggressive, if that's what you're asking.” Lup says, feigning nonchalance. “He likes the company. You may as well come meet him.”

Fisher is doing beautifully, even though there was no way he could have known just how important it was to make a good impression. He's come closer to the window and he's signing to Lup, entirely unbothered by a stranger.

Then Lup laughs and turns to Magnus. “Apparently Lucas left an impression.” She says.

“You can speak with him?” Kravitz asks, he's not trying to hide the wonder in his tone.

“We're working on teaching him ASL.” Lup says, “and he's doing his best to teach us his language. He's asking about you.”

She gives Kravitz a name sign that Fisher faithfully repeats and then teaches Kravitz his name in return. “We can go in if you want.” Lup says. “He's a bit uncertain about strangers, but he seems to like you well enough.”

Lup may or may not be stretching the truth a little bit there. The only stranger that Fisher has had to deal with since he got used to the main team as been Lucas and no one handles Lucas well. Still, the point of all of this is to prove, or at least appear, like they know what they're doing. That they have Fisher's care well in hand and that the Bureau doesn't have any grounds to interfere.

Fisher isn't exactly jumping out of the water to come see Kravitz, but he isn't hiding at the back of the pool either. Kravitz has questions, endless, focused questions about everything. Fisher's responses to certain things, certain people, how he responded to the amputation of his tail fin, what they do to keep him entertained, how they gained his trust, who he responds best to, how it is best to approach him.

At the end though, Kravitz shakes hands with Davenport and says: “I'll be giving my superiors a glowing report on this. There's no doubt that this is the best condition a mer has ever been in captivity. They might even send me back to take notes.”

Then he leaves and Fisher is still at the institute, still safe. Magnus doesn't believe it until Lup turns to him and throws her arms around him. “We did it!” she all but shouts. There are plans to go out for drinks that night, but Magnus ducks out. He's almost done with Fisher's latest present and after today he definitely deserves something.

***

Magnus watches Fisher twist and leap through the water and the air. Trilling joy and splashing anyone who comes close enough. They're all out by the pool with him, the sun is high and the air pleasantly warm.

As the sun goes down, Magnus realizes that he's lost count of the days.

 


End file.
